Portable parking indicator

ABSTRACT

A portable parking indicator is provided which signals the driver of a vehicle that he has reached a predetermined parking position in a garage or other regularly assigned parking space. The signaling means can be a light bulb, whose source of power can be either a battery or line voltage, which is actuated by the vehicle bumper depressing a contact plate mounted pivotably upright on a vertically adjustable lever and closing an electrical contact positioned between the contact plate and the lever. The lever is mounted pivotably upright on a movable base and is connected to tension means which holds the lever in an upright position.

June 6, 1972 United States Patent Follett [54] PQRTABLE PARKINGINDIQATOR Primary Examiner-John W. Caldwell [72] Inventor. Harold W.Follett, 100 Reamer Ave., Assistant Examiner Kenneth N. Leimer Wllmmgton19804 Attorney-Robert W. Black Feb. 26, 1971 ABSTRACT [22] Filed:

A portable parking indicator is provided which signals the ched apredetermined [21] Appl. No.:

parkdriver of a vehicle that he has rea ing position in a garage orother regularly assigned parking space. The signaling means can be alight bulb, whose source 0 Am 1 62 Wb O8 20 m. 4

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[58] Field ofSearch .................200/61.41, 61.42; 340/51, 61

of power can be either a battery or line voltage, which is actuated bythe vehicle bumper depressing a contact plate References Cited mountedpivotably upright on a vertically adjustable lever and closing anelectrical contact positioned between the contact UNITED STATES PATENTSplate and the lever. The lever is mounted pivotably upright on a movablebase and is connected to tension means which holds the lever in anupright position.

1 mm 0 w 4 2,454,896 11/1948 Traub Williams........

"340/61 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJuu 6 m2 SHEET 10F 4INVENTOR ,HAROLD w. FOLLETT ATTORNEY PATENTEDJ H 61912 SHEET 2 OF 4INVENTOR HAROLD w. EOLLETT ATTORNEY PATENTEDJUN 6 @972 SHEET 4 0F 4INVENTOR RELAY FIG-5 HAROLD W. FOLLETT ATTORNEY PORTABLE PARKINGINDICATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thisinvention relates to portable parking indicators and more particularlyto portable parking indicators for vehicles which are adapted to signaldrivers of the vehicles that the vehicles have reached theirpredetermined parking positions.

2. Description of Prior Art When a vehicle is driven into a garage orany other regularly assigned parking space, the vehicle is maneuveredinto a precise position to obviate striking objects around the parkingspace or to prevent the vehicle from interfering with the opening orclosing of garage doors. A number of parking indicators have been shownin prior art, but these have been inconvenient in that they must bebuilt into the garage. Such indicators are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.2,658,967 to Matschke, 2,731,934 to I-Iausmann et al., 2,879,350 toHowell, 3,219,972 to Williams and 3,395,387 to Durant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there isprovided a portable parking indicator device which is placed in avehicle parking space comprising: (1) a base which is placed at adesired position in the parking space, (2) a vertically adjustable levermounted pivotably upright on the base, (3) a pressure contact platemounted pivotably upright on the lever and adjusted in height to come incontact with the most forward point of the vehicle, (4) an electricalcontact positioned between the contact plate and the lever, (5) firsttension means between the lever and contact plate to hold the face ofthe contact plate in an upright position and to keep the electricalcontact open except when the forward point of the vehicle moves thecontact plate to close the electrical contact, (6) second tension meansmounted to exert tension on the lever to hold it in an upright position,(7) signaling means connected to an electrical source, and (8) anelectrical circuit connecting the contact points and the signalingmeans.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of aportable parking indicator device of the extendible lever type andlow-voltage signal light unit;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a portable parking indicator deviceof the movable slide type and line voltage operation signal light;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the spring base of FIGS. 1 and 3for holding the lever in an upright position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring specifically to thedrawings, it will be seen that the portable parking indicator shown inFIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 consists basically of a pressure contact plate 10mounted pivotally upright on bolt 11 on the extendible upper portion 12Aof lever 12 (FIGS. 1 and 2) or on a separate detachable sliding unit 13which in turn slides up or down on the lever 12 to the desired height(FIGS. 3 and 4); the lower part of the lever in turn being mountedpivotally upright on bolt 14 mounted on base 15. Both lever 12A andslide 13 are mounted and adjusted on lever 12 by bolts 56 and 56,respectively, inserted through holes located at various verticalpositions along lever 12, lever 12A and slide 13. Contact plate 10 isretained upright against stop 16 in FIGS. 1 and 2 by action of lightcoil spring 17 positioned around pivot 11 to keep switch contact points50 and 51 open at all times except when closed by the vehicle bumpermoving the contact plate. Contact 50 affixed to plate 10 on insulatingmaterial 52 is an insulated contact, whereas the second contact point 51in juxtaposition thereto afi'rxed to the top of lever 12A is a groundedcontact.

Lever 12 is held in upright position against stop 19 by action of heavymain spring 20 except when vehicle advances too far forward. Main spring20 is attached to lever 12 by hook 21 and to through-bolt 22 on springbase 23 of a spring-base as sembly 53 which slides on spring sub-base 24to provide proper spring tension. Alternatively, or in addition tospring 20, a heavy coil spring 25 encircling lever pivot bolt 14 inlever base 15 may be used with or substituted for spring 20, spring-baseassembly 53 and sub-base 24 to apply forward pressure against lever 12at point 26 when spring 25 is anchored at hole 27 in base 15. Use ofcoil spring 25 requires lever base 15 to be slightly wider to make roomfor the spring beside the lever around the pivot bolt.

Lever base 15 and spring sub-base 24 are mounted on a wood or metal base55 and in use the base can be weighted down with two small lead bars orwith two bricks to retain it in the desired spot and stabilize theentire apparatus for heavier than normal bumps.

The portable parking indicator built with the extension lever 12 and 12Ashown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is simple, cheap to manufacture, and it will worksatisfactorily with most automobile bumpers but extensibility is limitedto a few inches.

The portable parking indicator with the bumper contact plate built ontothe movable slide 13 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 has more versatility as themovable slide 13 with the controls is self contained and it may bemounted at any height on a lever of any desired length.

Both types of portable parking indicators can be used with either alow-voltage stoplight unit powered by flashlight batteries or acommercially available line voltage switch operating an electricstoplight (or bell or buzzer) system powered by a relay utilizing lowvoltage current through the line voltage switch on the actuator unit.

The low-voltage stoplight unit is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is operatedsimply by the closing and opening of contact points 50 and 51 (whichalso act as a stop for contact plate 10 against lever 12A) when the wire49 on connector 29 is attached to the lever by bolt 30 with clamp 35 andconnected electrically to contact points 50 and 51 as shown in FIG. Iand when connector 29 is plugged into female connector 31 of a 3- voltportable stoplight unit 48. Hole 33 in upper lever 12A is used when aline voltage switch, as discussed later, is used.

Stoplight unit 48 consists of a parking stoplight 32 which is mounted onthe front of a battery box 47 of sufficient size to hold a standard3-volt flashlight bulb 46 and two size AA pen- Iight batteries 45. Theback plate 44 of the box 47 has an extension at the top with a hole init to facilitate attachment of the stoplight unit 48 to the wall of thegarage or to a post or stake. Automotive-type female connector 31 iswired in series through the batteries and bulb so that the light bulbwill not il- Iurninate except by closing the points 50 and 51 on theactuator unit in FIGS. 1 and 2 or points 18 and 18' in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The line voltage stoplight (or bell or buzzer) system is shown in FIGS.3 and 4 and is operated by contact with the bumper contact plate 10against the line voltage switch 28. Switch 28 contains an intemal springwhich keeps the contact points therein open, and contact plate 10against its stop, except when closed by pressure of the vehicle bumper.

The switch is mounted on the slide unit 13 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 ordirectly on lever 12A as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When slide unit 13 isused, the switch is mounted by means of L-shaped bracket 34 attached tothe slide 13 by bolt 33. In this application, the wires 49 on connector43 are attached to slide unit 13 with clamp 35 by bolt 33 and the wiresare connected electrically to the wires on switch 38, as shown in FIG.3. Connector 43 is plugged into female connector 38 of line voltageswitching relay unit 42.

The portable parking indicator shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is manufactured soit can be wired to the low-voltage stoplight unit 48 discussedpreviously. Stop 16' is a bolt passing through a slot at the top ofmovable slide 13 and afirxed to the top of contact plate 10. Contacts 18and 18 are identical to contacts 50 and 51. After being depressed,contact plate 10 is returned to the upright position by spring 17, whichshould be removed when switch 28 is used.

Line voltage switching relay unit 42 is a simple switching device foruse with line voltage switch 28. The device consists of a commerciallyavailable control relay 36 and electrical receptacle 40 energized atline voltage by the relay when con nector 37 is plugged into a groundedand polarized electrical outlet and when contact points in switch 28 areclosed. The relay 36 contains therein a transformer supplying lowvoltage to switch 28 on the actuator unit. In this application standardelectrical polarized cap 37 is plugged into a polarized and groundedservice receptacle; automotive type connector 43 on the actuator unit isplugged into connector 33 on the relay and an extension cord 39 of anydesired length with red colored 110420 volt light bulb 41 (or bell orbuzzer) is plugged into receptacle 40. The light bulb 41 can be placedwhere it will function as a guide to parking and as a stop signal,

In operation of the stoplight unit 48, it is mounted on the garage wallahead of the vehicle or on a stand or stake at proper height above thetop of the hood to permit it to be used as a target at which to aim thecenter line of the hood, or line of demarkation between fender ondrivers side and the hood, while driving the vehicle into the garage orparking space. The portable parking indicator unit is placed on thefloor in such position that the foremost part of the bumper will touchthe upper part of the pressure contact plate as the vehicle is driveninto the desired parking position.

As the vehicle is driven into the garage or parking space the firsttime, the operation is performed very slowly and carefully so theparking indicator can be moved and placed exactly where desired. Bymoving the parking indicator backward or forward, it will be possible topark the vehicle in the exact desired sport Within a small fraction ofan inch.

Once the correct position of the actuator unit is established, the base55 should be weighted down. Thereafter, the driver approaches the garageslowly and in the center of the parking space with the hood center line,or line between fender and hood, pointing straight at the stoplight unit48 while watching the light bulb on the unit. As soon as the lightflashes on, the vehicle is stopped immediately and reversed only justenough to permit the light to flash off.

After stopping at the proper place, the driver must hold the vehiclemotionless with the foot brake until after the parking brake has beenapplied as the vehicle might otherwise roll far enough to turn thesignal light on again.

In the event line voltage switch 28 and line voltage switching relayunit 42 should be adopted in lieu of the 3-volt stoplight unit, theplacement of the portable parking indicator and its operation will bethe same as outlined above. Use of a relay with line voltage properlypolarized and grounded will provide safer operation of the portableparking indicator than with line voltage directly and will eliminate anyshock hazard that might result from use of line voltage through theswitch in case a vehicle should crash into the portable parkingindicator and smash the switch or cut the wires.

What is claimed is:

l. A portable parking indicator device which is placed in a vehicleparking space comprising: (1) a base which is placed at a desiredposition in the parking space, (2) a vertically adjustable lever mountedpivotably upright on the base, (3) a pressure contact plate mountedpivotably upright on the lever and adjusted in height to come in contactwith the most forward point of the vehicle, (4) an electrical contactpositioned between the contact plate and the lever, (5) first tensionmeans between the lever and contact plate to hold the face of thecontact plate in an upright position and to keep the electrical contactopen except when the forward point of the vehicle moves the contactplate to close the electrical contact, (6) second tension means mountedto exert tension on the lever to hold it in an upright position, (7)signaling means connected to an electrical source, and (8) an electricalcircuit connecting the contact points and the signaling means.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the electrical contact is a pair ofelectrical contact points, one point of the electrical contact pointsaffixed to the contact plate and the second point affixed to the leverin juxtaposition to the first point 3. The device of claim 2 wherein thefirst tension means comprises an adjustable stop mounted on the leverand extending between the lever and contact plate and a pressure springmounted on the pivot of the contact plate, said spring holding thecontact plate in an upright position against the adjustable stop.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the second tension means comprises afixed lever stop mounted on the base and a tension spring mountedforward of the lever, said spring exerting a tension on the lever tohold the lever against the fixed stop.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein the second tension means comprises afixed lever stop mounted on the base and a coil spring mounted on thelever pivot to hold the lever against the fixed stop.

6. The device of claim 3 wherein the signaling means is a low-voltagelight connected to a battery as the electrical source.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the electrical contact and firsttension means comprise an adjustable stop mounted on the lever andextending between the lever and contact plate, a line voltage springswitch having contact points therein affixed to the lever in a positionsuch that the switch contact points remain open and the switch exertstension to hold the contact plate against the adjustable stop on thelever.

B. The device of claim 7 wherein the signaling means comprises a relayhaving a low-voltage relay switch, low-voltage terminals and powersource terminals connected to line voltage, and a light electricallyconnected at moment of contact to line voltage terminals by action ofthe low-voltage relay switch.

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1. A portable parking indicator device which is placed in a vehicleparking space comprising: (1) a base which is placed at a desiredposition in the parking space, (2) a vertically adjustable lever mountedpivotably upright on the base, (3) a pressure contact plate mountedpivotably upright on the lever and adjusted in height to come in contactwith the most forward point of the vehicle, (4) an electrical contactpositioned between the contact plate and the lever, (5) first tensionmeans between the lever and contact plate to hold the face of thecontact plate in an upright position and to keep the electrical contactopen except when the forward point of the vehicle moves the contactplate to close the electrical contact, (6) second tension means mountedto exert tension on the lever to hold it in an upright position, (7)signaling means connected to an electrical source, and (8) an electricalcircuit connecting the contact points and the signaling means.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1 wherein the electrical contact is a pair of electricalcontact points, one point of the electrical contact points affixed tothe contact plate and the second point affixed to the lever injuxtaposition to the first point.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein thefirst tension means comprises an adjustable stop mounted on the leverand extending between the lever and contact plate and a pressure springmounted on the pivot of the contact plate, said spring holding thecontact plate in an upright position against the adjustable stop.
 4. Thedevice of claim 3 wherein the second tension means comprises a fixedlever stop mounted on the base and a tension spring mounted forward ofthe lever, said spring exerting a tension on the lever to hold the leveragainst the fixed stop.
 5. The device of claim 3 wherein the secondtension means comprises a fixed lever stop mounted on the base and acoil spring mounted on the lever pivot to hold the lever against thefixed stop.
 6. The device of claim 3 wherein the signaling means is alow-voltage light connected to a battery as the electrical source. 7.The device of claim 1 wherein the electrical contact and first tensionmeans comprise an adjustable stop mounted on the lever and extendingbetween the lever and contact plate, a line voltage spring switch havingcontact points therein affixed to the lever in a position such that theswitch contact points remain open and the switch exerts tension to holdthe contact plate against the adjustable stop on the lever.
 8. Thedevice of claim 7 wherein the signaling means comprises a relay having alow-voltage relay switch, low-voltage terminals and power sourceterminals connected to line voltage, and a light electrically connectedat moment of contact to line voltage terminals by action of thelow-voltage relay switch.